Highway uprating program

Each designated highway in the province has a prescribed maximum Gross Vehicle Weight (GVW) of, 43,500 kg, 50,000 kg, 56,500 kg or 62,500 kg. The highway designations may be found in Schedule B of NB regulation 2001-67.

Overview

The uprating program provides a mechanism allowing industry to request that the current limit of a highway be temporarily increased from its existing regulated GVW limit. The increase allows cargo to be transported on multiple legal vehicle configurations at maximum legal payload. This improves cost efficiencies in transportation of the goods and reduces the number of trucks operating on a specific route, during their temporary or seasonal operation. No vehicle operating under this program is permitted to exceed the legal mass and dimension prescribed for the vehicle.

Industry requests to evaluate a highway must be submitted to the Special Permits Office using the Uprating Program – Industry Application (PDF 197 KB) form. Program evaluations require four to 10 weeks. All vehicles must carry a permit specific to their vehicle, which reflects the terms and conditions of this authorization.

Requests for vehicle permits must be submitted to the Special Permits Office using the Uprating Program – Vehicle Permit application (PDF 56 KB) form. Vehicle permits are issued within two business days.

List of routes

PUBLICATION

Current list of routes

List of routes approved to be temporarily increased from its existing regulated GVW limit. (PDF 394 KB) Last updated: 2026-10-08

Get help

For additional inquiries, you can contact us Monday to Friday between 8:15 a.m. and 4:30 p.m., excluding holidays.


Motor Vehicle Branch
Phone: 506-453-2410
Email: [email protected]

Special permits
Phone: 506-453-2982
Email: [email protected]